Wire laying machine



April 18, 1939. 1 H. GRAY ET AL WIRE LAYING MACHINE Filed March 20,19157 3 Sheets-Sheet l E 9 2/ 20 49 r 22 g a 32 3/ 35 J H GRAY g/ENTORSR.J. KENT v I Q j. MacAmm/U ATTORNEY April 18, 1939.

FIG. 3

J. H. GRAY ET AL I WIRE LAYING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1937 5Sheets-Sheet 2 J. H. GRAY lNl/ENTORS RAJ. KENT ATTORNEY A ril 18, 1939.J. H. GRAY El AL WIRE LAYING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 20,1957 lNVENTOPS 5y j 974 M A awn- 4 7114 I114 'Ill 1 ATTORNEY PatentedApr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WIRE LAYING MACHINEApplication March 20,

6 Claims.

This invertion relates to cable or wire laying machines, and moreparticularly to wire laying plows, and its object is to provide a devicefor laying underground a wire or cable, said de- 5 vice beingconstructed and arranged to form a trench and lay the wire therein, thewalls of the trench closing in over the wire so that the latter iscompletely buried without the necessity of any further digging orleveling operations.

In accordance with this invention reels are set on their ends andrigidly secured to a platform on the rear of the plow, and journaled inthe upper end of each of the reels and in spaced relation thereto is areadily rotatable framework or head, the diameter of which is slightlylarger than the head of the reels, thereby providing an extendingportion beyond the edge of the reelhead, whereby as the wire leaves thereels it frictionally engages the rotatable head thereby reducing thetension on the wire and giving a twist thereto, thereby transposing theconductors to eliminate cross talk. I

Another feature is a novel type of plowshare which tends to draw itselfdown into the ground as the machine is moved along.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the wire laying plow of this inventionwith the plowshare and its atsbociated wire guidingtube in an upraisedposiion;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, except that the plowshare is in itslowered or operating position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side view of the adjustable coulter or scoringdisc;

Fig, 5 is an end View of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in section illustratingthe reel holding device and the rotatable head for the reel; and

Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in section showing thereel locking and holding device in its open position.

In the drawings, the machine comprises a chassis l mounted upon suitablewheels H and I2 and having a rotary coulter l3 adjustab ly supportedthereon in front of a plowshare M. The coulter l3 which is arranged toout or score the ground ahead of the plowshare I4 is adjustably mountedin the guide members I! and I8, which in turn are secured to the lateralframe members l and I6. See Figs. 4 and 5. The coulter disc I3 is raisedor lowered by means of the crank handle Hi, the upper end of which isrotatably secured to the upper end of the coulter supporting member 20,while the lower portion of 1937, Serial No. 131,992

the crank handle threadedly engages the guide members I! and I8. Locatedjust ahead of the coulter I3 is the skid or shoe 2|, which acts as afront end support for the machine and smooths the way for the coulterI3. 5

The plowshare I4 is located to the rear of the wheels H and I2 and issecured to the chassis [0 between the frame members l5 and I6 by meansof suitable bolts and is securely braced by means of the arms 22. Theplowshare l4 comprises a number of component parts and is constructed towithstand the rigorous conditions which will be met in the burying ofwire or cable in various types of soil and is so arranged that thewearing parts may be readily replaced when necessary, without replacingthe whole plowshare. As shown in the various figures, a cutting edge 23,and a point 24, which comprise the wearing portions of the plowshare,may readily be replaced or removed whenever desired, withoutdisassembling the whole share.

Located on the rear edge of the plowshare I4 is a tube or pipe 26through which the cable or wire is guided into the trench formed by theplowshare M. This tube 26 is readily removable and may be replaced bytubes of various sizes, in order to accommodate wires or cable ofdifferent diameters and structures. The upper end of the tube 26, thatis, the wire receiving end, extends slightly above the chassis l0 andhas mounted thereon a pulley or roller 21.

As shown inFigs. l, 2 and 3 the wire or cable 28, which is to be buried,is stored on suitable reels 29 and 39, which are mounted on anoverhanging platform 3| secured to the rear portion of the chassis ID bymeans of the rearwardly extending arms 32 and 33. The reels 29 and 39are stationary and are held in position by means of the hinged member34, which engages the bottom end of the reel, as shown in Fig. 6 and issecured in position by means of the chain and latch arrangement 35, asshown in Figs. 6 and 7. In this manner the reels 29 and 30 are securelyheld in place and are prevented from being displaced as the machine istowed along over rough ground. Located on the upper ends of the reels 29and 30 are the rotatable members 36 and 31, these members beingjournaled in the bearings 38 located in the heads of the reels, by meansof the axles 25 and are spaced away from the head by means of the flange39 and the bearing 38. See Fig. 6. The rotatable heads or members 36 and31 comprise two rings 40 and 4| of metal or other suitable material andare secured together by means of the cross-members 42 and 43. The

rings 40 and M are larger in diameter than the reelheads and thereforeextend and overhang some distance beyond the edge thereof.

The wire 28 as it leaves the reels 29 and 30 passes up and around theextending edges of the rotatable members 36 and 31, thereby causingthese members to rotate thereby reducing the tension on the wire.Removing the wire in this manner causes a twist to be given to the wirewhich tends to eliminate transmission difficulties such as cross-talk.In order to eliminate as far as possible the friction between the wireand the various guiding means and to further reduce the tension on thewire, a series of pulleys M and 45 are provided between the rotatableheads 36 and 3'! and the wire receiving or guiding tube 26.. Thesepulleys are mounted on a suitable frame- I work 46 which in turn issecured to the chassis it.

In order that the burying depth of the wire may be varied, a suitableadjusting means 1?, which is more or less standard to agriculturalmachinery, is provided and by the operation of the crank it the partsassociated therewith cause the chassis l and the plowshare it asso=ciated therewith to rotate around thebell cranlr axle it, therebycausing the chassis ill to swing down below the center of the wheelaxles, as shown in Fig. 2.

As pointed out previously in this specification, the depth of theplowshare and the corresponding varying depth of the wire may beadjusted and regulated by means of the crank at and the asso= ciatedparts, and inasmuch as this mechanism is common to agriculturalmachinery and does not form any part of this invention, it is notbelieved necessary to explain in detail the operation thereof.

Means are provided for securing the plow to a source of draft power,which means comprises a member tit secured to the chassis iii and acievis 5i secured to the front end of the member 5.

in the operation of burying wire or cable with the machine of thisinvention as heretofore de= scribed, the skid or shoe M will slide overthe ground and the coulter disc it will cut or score the sod or hardupper surface of the ground so that the following plowshare M mayreadily cut the trench to the required depth. As the ma= chine movesalong, the wire 28 or other con= ductor will be fed off the reels 29 and3t over the pulleys M, 55 and 21 down through the tube it and into thetrench behind the plowshare id.

Having fully described the preferred embodiment of our invention, it isto be understood that we do not wish to be limited to the exactconstruction herein disclosed. which may obviously be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, as set forth in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wire laying plow comprising a movable frame mounted on a wheeledcarriage and having a connection thereon whereby it maybe connected to adraft device, a skid-shoe adjacent said draft connection and secured tothe front of said frame, a vertically adjustable and pivoted cuttingdisc mounted on said frame to the rear of said shoe, means on said framefor raising and lowering said cutting disc, 9. plowshare secured to anddepending from said frame and having a. wire guide tube secured to therear edge thereof, said plowshare, guide tube and cutting disc beingvertically adjustable, a wire storing reel having a head thereon mountedon the rear of said frame, means for guiding said wire into said tube,wire engaging means mounted on said reelhead for reducing the tension insaid wire as it leaves the reelhead and enters the guide tube, and meanson said frame for securely holding said reel against movement.

2. A wire laying plow comprising a movable frame having a connectionthereon whereby it may be connected to a draft device, a slrid-shoeadjacent said draft connection and secured to the front end of saidframe, a vertically adjustable and pivoted cutting disc mounted on saidframe to the rear of said shoe, a plowshare depending from said frameand having a wire guide tube attached to the rear edge thereof, awheeled truck supporting said frame and pivotally connected thereto forvertical swinging movement relative thereto, means for swinging saidtruck about the axis of its wheels to raise and lower said frame, a wirestoring reel having a head thereon mounted on the rear of said frame,means for guiding said wire into said tube, wire engaging means on saidreelhead for reducing the tension in said wire as it leaves the reel andenters the guide tube, and means on said frame for securely holding saidreel against movement.

3. An apparatus for laying and burying wires under the ground comprisinga frame, a plowshare adapted for forming a self-closing furrow securedto said frame, wheels supporting said frame, means for swinging saidframe about the axis of said wheels to raise and lower said frame andsaid plowshare, means comprising a tube on the rear of said plowsharefor guiding the wire into the furrow, a wire storing reel mounted onsaid frame, said reel having friction reducing means mounted thereoncomprising a rotatable wire engaging reelhead, and means associated withsaid reel for guiding the wire into said tube.

4. An apparatus for laying and burying wires under the ground comprisinga frame, a plowshare adapted for form ing a self-closing furrow securedto said frame, wheels supporting said frame, means for swinging saidframe about the axis of said wheels to raise and lower said frame andsaid plowshare, means comprising a tube on the rear end of saidplowshare for guiding the wire into the furrow, a wire storing reelmounted on said frame to the rear of said plowshare, said reel havingfriction reducing means mounted thereon comprising a rotatable wireengaging reelhead, means associated with said reel for guiding the wireinto said tube, and means mounted on said frame for securely lockingsaid reel in position.

5. An apparatus for laying and burying wires under the ground comprisinga frame, a scoring disc mounted on the front end of said frame, aplowshare adapted for forming a self-closing furrow secured to saidframe at the rear of said disc, wheels supporting said frame, means forswinging said frame about the axis of said wheels to raise and lowersaid frame and said plowshare, means comprising a tube on the rear ofsaid plowshare for guiding the wire into the furrow, a wire storing reelmounted on said frame to the rear of said plowshare, said reel havingfriction reducing means mounted thereon comprising a rotatablewireengaging reelhead, and means associated with said reel for guidingthe wire into said tube.

6. An apparatus for laying and burying wires under the ground-comprisinga frame, a skidshoe secured to the front end of said frame, a verticallyadjustable scoring disc mounted to the rear of said skid-shoe, aplowshare adapted for forming a self-closing furrow secured to saidframe at the rear of said disc,- wheels supporting said frame, means forswinging said frame about the axis of said wheels to raise and lowersaid frame and said plowshare, means comprising a tube on the rear endof said plowshare for guiding the wire into the furrow, a wire storingreel stationarily mounted onsaid frame, means mounted on said frame forsecurely locking said reel in position, said reel having frictionreducing means mounted thereon comprising a rotatable wire engagingreelhead, said reelhead, upon rotation, being adapted to cause twistingin said wire as it leaves the reel, and means associated with said reelfor guiding the wire into said tube.

JOSEPH H. GRAY. ROBERT J. KENT.

